Since I Met You
by xLiliumxAricox
Summary: This is Lucci's thoughts from when he first met Luffy to Luffy's birthday as set in Miss D. Written by Mjus and me.


**Alright, explanation time! You could see this as a preview to my own story following Miss D. Basically the same, but in Lucci's POV. This story, however is done by Mjus and I. You could also see this as a separate branch of Miss D entirely. Either way, I hope you enjoy it, since Mjus is a beautiful writer and did most of this. We don't own One Piece, and be prepared for Lucci feels!**

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Sometimes I wonder if there really is such a thing as a God who can forgive even the worst of sinners. Was it a God who sent one of his angels to me, or is this some sort of miracle?

I lie awake, unable to sleep no matter how exhausted my body feels. My mind is still reeling, somewhat afraid that this is yet another dream and that if I close my eyes the angelic face in front of mine will turn out to be a pillow.

I still remember all those years I spent as a CP9 agent, everything I did, but I can hardly recall what life was like back then or how I felt. Things have changed, something inside of me has awoken, and I have changed ever since I met Luffy. Or rather, since he ran into me.  
I think it was his eyes. They were so full of pain, and sorrow, when I felt that they should never look that way. That was first time I got acquainted with him. When Luffy looked at me, I was surprised by how a pair of black eyes could be so deep. Black eyes, any I had seen before Luffy, looked like polished rocks to me, as if there was nothing underneath. Luffy's eyes held both light and shadows that swirled and changed with every thought flying through his head. There are some crappy poems I've read, for reasons I've forgotten, where it's stated blue eyes are the most beautiful and true; the colour of angel eyes. Whoever wrote those poems is a fool who's never seen an angel's eyes, because _her_ eyes were blue, and there was never anything beautiful or special about them. Luffy's eyes are black like pieces of a new moon night sky filled with twinkling stars. Those are angel eyes.

Or perhaps it was the scar under his eye that caught my attention. As I watch his face now my fingertips gently trace the old wound, deep enough to have had been stitched. He has such a soft, childish face, as if life, death and time can't wear him down. But this scar, so close to the eye I can imagine the pain went all the way to the very back of his skull, is proof he's still alive. He hasn't told me how he got it, and I haven't asked. In return he has never asked about my scars, even though I can see in his eyes he wants to.

Or it was both.

Luffy's eyes when I first met him captivated me, and the scar gained a bit of my respect. He was just not any high school boy whose face I would forget as soon as I stopped looking at it. Those eyes wouldn't let me forget.

The day when he asked me out is still clear in my memory. It had surprised me, more than I want to admit. As I stared at his red face I remembered some missions from the past; sex appeal was one of the most efficient ways of gaining information, no matter how unpleasant it was. This wasn't like any of those times. Luffy's eyes were different, calling out to me in a way I had never seen before, so I accepted.

And he smiled at me.

Luffy's smile. I think I've grown addicted to it. Back then I was confused by the relief I felt inside, and it made me nervous, perhaps even horrified at how each time Luffy smiled at me I lowered my guard. It didn't matter how irritated or frustrated I felt or how much I told myself to be careful; Luffy's smile eased every tension in my body until I wanted to smile back.

Our very first date is the one I remember the clearest. He didn't come on to me like I had almost expected him to. It wasn't a physical relationship he wanted. He wanted something deeper than I was ready to give him. When I realized that, I decided that first date would be the last. But he almost made me laugh. If I had been anybody else maybe that wouldn't have been a very great feat, but I am Rob Lucci of CP9; legal murderer, and I don't smile. This world has showed me too much blood, too much evil for me to feel anything but the weight of my duty. For an agent, happiness is but an illusion made up by those who came before us as they slowly were driven into madness. An illusion I never let myself believe in, not even when I watched the people of the world I was told I secretly protected smile and laugh as they walked through their lives. Yet when I was with Luffy… he caught me off guard, and I couldn't help myself when I realized that what I thought was suggestive was actually an innocent comment, and the fact Luffy himself didn't catch the double meaning of his words… I cracked, and I wanted to hold on to that feeling he planted inside my heart.

Luffy has done that to me many times. Even to this day it happens occasionally. Luffy and boring don't appear together. He was… _is_ full of surprises. Every time I thought I had grasped him he turned around and showed me another side of himself. He is a typical little boy who loves video games and action movies, getting excited over what I think are trivial things. It made me think he was childish at first, but soon I learned he has strong morals and boldly stands for them. Towards people in general he's so very straightforward it's funny; always saying exactly what's on his mind. But with me he was timid, not daring to challenge his limits and never rushing head first into things like he often did with everything else, which was comfortable for me too, I could let him closer my own pace. Once in a while, for the first few dates, the thought that Luffy might me using me for something crossed my mind, but I know better now. Luffy is faithful and loyal to all those he loves. He will always be the first to act if a friend asks him for help. He doesn't lie either, not very well at least, and when he does lie it is mainly an attempt to get out of trouble, or to protect someone.

From his face and physique I thought he was weak, but that's the image he shook off the fastest. I learnt the hard way (he was angry with me) that Luffy _can_ fight, and he loves to do it. His body might be slender, despite his huge appetite, but it's made solely out of muscles of the more stretchy and flexible sort. Agile like a monkey, nimble on his feet, faster than a viper, Luffy is anything but weak. The face he makes when fighting excites me to no end, and it's been the cause of many a wet dream of mine (that being the reason I will never again sleep in the same room as Jyabra. That was_ not_ the way I wanted to let him know about Luffy).

Oh the dreams I've dreamt about Luffy. Sometimes he's rested in my arms, other times I've been a kitten, leopard kitten most of the time, he picks me up and holds me against his chest. His heartbeat would always be so calming. A few times he descended from the sky to save me from the shadows binding me with chains of regrets of my past, many times God has taken him back no matter how much I tried to keep him with me. I've dreamt how my bloodied hands touched his white skin, tainting him until he cried out from the pain. I've dreamt of him being killed to repay for my life.

I've dreamt that _I _have killed him.

Shuddering from the memory of those dreams, I pulled Luffy closer to me, to feel the warmth of his naked skin against mine, his even breath against my throat and I buried my face in his hair. He has a nice smell, like of sunshine. Smelling him calms me. It used to scare me how the whiff of Luffy's hair and his arms around me almost made me feel secure, as of nothing bad could happen as long as Luffy held me. It's vexing. Even though I view myself as the man of our relationship I'm the one who needs to be held and comforted, all the time trying to make sure Luffy doesn't notice it, wishing I could do the same for him as often as he do me. The times I've comforted Luffy are easily counted. He doesn't come whining to me with every problem of his the way I wish he would. He might be a bad liar, but he always puts up a brave front to ensure me everything is fine while he sorts things out on his own.

One of those problems was about his brother. Portgas D. Ace. Luffy had early on let me know that he didn't want his half-brother to know about our relationship, because even though they were on good terms, he was sure Ace wouldn't like or accept that Luffy was gay and had a boyfriend. I remember how readily I agreed to that, for two reasons. One, I had had my run-ins with Ace before I met Luffy and we didn't hit off well. Two, I had no intention of letting anything get in between Luffy and I. If keeping a distance to the brother meant I could date Luffy in peace, then I would (although with that bright-haired, hyper girl stalking us I could hardly call our dates peaceful).

After Luffy and I started dating, my dislike towards Ace grew. Some part of me was anxious every time I let Luffy go home, because the moment I learnt Ace was the son of Gol D. Roger, I stopped trusting him entirely. Roger had been a treacherous man. Luffy knew what had happened, how his father had been killed by Roger, but not why. He said it didn't matter anymore, and that he didn't hate Roger for killing his father. I doubted those words, so I did some research about the incident. What I found made me that much more mistrusting towards Ace. Luffy might love his brother simply because they are brothers, but who knew what was going on in Aces head? Still, I decided not to tell Luffy about my findings, because the truth might hurt him, and the last thing I want to see on his face is tears.

I sigh deeply, combing my fingers through Luffy's soft hair as I remember how relieved I was when Ace graduated and moved out. Luffy had been a little depressed though, but it was the perfect excuse for me to hold and kiss him more often.

He told me he was happy I was with him.

_I_ made Luffy happy.

For the first time in my life I felt full. There had been this soft feeling somewhere inside me ever since I met Luffy, but when he said he was happy with me that feeling spread all the way to the tip of my toes. Happiness, I realized, was not an illusion. Love was real and tangible. Nobody else but Luffy can never make me feel this way, I knew that then, I know it now, and I wanted so desperately for him to stay with me.  
Then, once again catching me completely off guard, I heard a rumour that Luffy was moving to Ireland. It wasn't just a rumour. The one spreading it was Luffy's best friend when he ran through the corridors while crying.

The sound of a heart breaking in two is silent and so loud it takes minutes before you can hear another sound again. The sound took out all of my control over both my feelings and actions…

The sound of Luffy moaning in his sleep wakes me from my memories. His arm drapes over my waist and snuggles into my chest.

That's right. Luffy moved to Ireland, but he came back, and he's still with me. He still loves me. No matter how cold and lonely I felt during the time Luffy was away, to the point I wondered if Luffy had been nothing but a dream, having him back in my arms had me forget how I could have lived without him.

I sigh again and pull the covers higher up Luffy's frame. Our relationship has been a bit stormy for the past few months, ever since Ace decided to come back. Somehow that half-brother had made Luffy tell him about me, and I'm afraid Luffy heard something I had intended not to let him know, still he forgave me.

He found out I used to be involved with Ciper Pol. Of all the things in our relationship that scared me, more than my own devotion, more than any of my nightmares, it was Luffy finding out about CP9. It had felt like a certain end, or finally being caught by the past I tried to run away from. But he… knew about Ciper Pol. He didn't like it, didn't like I had anything to do with them. I could see it in his eyes. And still he decided to stay with me. Because he loves me.

I take a deep breath, inhaling the scent of Luffy's hair. I love him. More than anything and anyone. The last time we fought scared me into numbness, because that was the first time Luffy bodily attacked me. After he ran out, Jyabra told me how much of an idiot I was for swinging out like a brat and acting defensive. Kaku had been furious when he came back. And then Kalifa had shown up.

It's funny in a way. I remember how Kalifa used to be my stress relief, how I trusted her, and how she betrayed me. When I saw her again, I felt nothing. No remorse, no hurt from the betrayal, I couldn't even find what I once had thought was attractive about her. But seeing her with her arms around Luffy, even with the knife against his throat, I felt a sharper stab of jealousy than I had ever felt against any of the idiots who had flirted with him in the past, because at that time Luffy hadn't smiled when he saw me. He was still angry with me.

I thought I had lost him, even so I wanted to protect him from the past that haunted me.

I thought I lost him when Blueno pulled him out of the window, and all I could do was believe in Luffy's strength as I tracked down Kalifa. Blueno was one thing, Kalifa was the dangerous one.

I wanted to kill her. Every fiber in my body screamed at me to kill her. I let her live. I let her run. And Luffy came back to me. Now, I don't regret letting Kalifa get off the hook, because I don't think it was a coincidence Luffy appeared right after Kalifa left. He even decided that someday he might forgive me for what I did for Ciper Pol.

I sigh again, feeling how sleep is coming over me, and I can't help but smile. Luffy lies in my arms, passed out from love-making. Before I go to sleep I kiss his forehead.

"I love you, Luffy."

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**Aaand, there you have it! This honestly moved me to tears when I first read it. Mjus is AN AMAZING WRITER AND I LOVE HER TO BITS. I only added some context to have this be in more touch with the original story. Regardless, I hope you all had a lovely time reading it and if you need tissues or cookies, just ask. Have a good day, everyone!**


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